The First World Problem Thread

[One Drop]

Pity this thread had to descend to racism and such, if I had any idea it would go in that direction I would never started it.

[Jobsrobertsharpii]

Can anyone tell me what a Second-World Problem is?

[CakeAwake]

	Quote:	Jobsrobertsharpii
	Can anyone tell me what a Second-World Problem is?

Inflation.

[MusicChick]

I thought about this, when pondering over Paul Liessmann's Das Universum der Dinge..His ideas over luxury thoughts and those who would immediately discard them as pointless. This site is often full of excess but the gems do stand out don't they.

He quoted Nietzsche, "I have done this" says my memory, "I couldn't have done that" says my pride and insists. And so memory gives up..

Today Liesmann wrote on work, it's a very relative concept. I recalled mom telling me that babies work all the time. When they eyes are open, they are working. I remember watching my baby all those years, she was right. No substantial thoughts are luxury.

[adrianlondon]

Is it "post like Wolli" day?

[MusicChick]

	Quote:	adrianlondon
	Is it "post like Wolli" day?

Naw, I am not as good. Shoooo...




* it's babichka day

[greenmount]

	Quote:	One Drop
	Pity this thread had to descend to racism and such, if I had any idea it would go in that direction I would never started it.

... "first world" nomination sounds awful. But each to their own, I suppose.

[Wollishofener]

	Quote:	zuercherbirmensdorfer
	Actually, speaking of guilt: I have a Mammut ski-jacket and a North Face Down jacket. Until yesterday, I thought these were made here - especially considering the price of both is well over CHF 1000. I was just looking at the collar tags yesterday, and guess what? The North Face Down's from Bangladesh and the ski-jacket is from China. Talk about guilt when I think of the working environments in those countries. I mean, it's classic "pyramid", a small group exploiting the rest. It's only a few cases where the standards of living and working are raised overall in these areas. As for problems in general, if death is considered one (it shouldn't be), I read that suicides are becoming a problem in the "first" world. Strangely enough, I also read that Bangladesh was rated one of the "happiest" in the world. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

You have to see it correctly. With buying the NorthFaceDown jacket you secured the income of a family in Bangladesh for several months, and with buying the ski jacked you secured the income of a family in China for several month.

When you buy a bottle of wine from Tunisia for CHF 3.20, it is obvious that the workers in the vineyard get a monthly salary of between CHF 200 and CHF 400 which is lousy, but those people depend on the sales. And sales to Europe are far more profitable for the top brass and the workers alike.

Already Messrs Marx, Engels and Ulyanov (Lenin) realized that only workers who are employed have a chance to press towards improvements.

For comparison
- a nice 5 room apartment in Alexandria costs less than a 2 room apartment in Zürich
- a spacious Peugeot 504 in Alexandria costs less than a FIAT UNO in Zürich
- a pack of excellent radio batteries (12 pcs) in Alexandria costs less than 2 pieces in Zürich
>>> the comparison is similar in case of places like Tunis or Algiers or Oran or Casablanca ---- and even more extreme in case of places like Dakar or Banjul

So, please please continue to buy merchandise from countries on the African Continent and in Asia, as only the exports to "rich" Europe gives the workers in these countries a chance for improvement

[Wollishofener]

	Quote:	Jobsrobertsharpii
	Can anyone tell me what a Second-World Problem is?

The "Second-World" now consists of Belarus, North Korea and Cuba. In case of Cuba, Raoul Castro is now to give freedom of travelling-abroad to his people. The man is turning his country gradually into a Europe-style social-democracy !

[slammer]

	Quote:	Wollishofener
	So, please please continue to buy merchandise from countries on the African Continent and in Asia, as only the exports to "rich" Europe gives the workers in these countries a chance for improvement

I hear you there Wollishofener, but for one there is no other mass produced (cheap) merchandise other than out from Asia, Africa still just can't cut it and exports are nominal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ies_by_exports
At the same time as we are encouraging asian exports some would say that it is working against our own production and job base with the result that more and more people are getting desperate to sell to people with no money to buy.

[One Drop]

	Quote:	Jobsrobertsharpii
	Can anyone tell me what a Second-World Problem is?

The First World.





I'm here all week, try the veal.

[Pavanne]

	Quote:	Phil_MCR
	interesting question. for one person, getting food might be the most pressing problem of the week. for another, getting the the iphone5. if they are felt as equally vexing, should we put greater value on one over the other because we judge one to be more trivial?

Yes.

(ooh, there's a character limit!)

[Pavanne]

	Quote:	3Wishes
	I think there are two ways to look at it when you see FWP in a post: 1 - The person that made the post is self-actualized enough (Mazlow) to realize that all of his/her other needs are met so this is a trivial on a cosmic scale. 2 - The person responding to the post hopes that the OP is self-actualized enough to...you get the idea.

Yes. Usually when I see it (or use it) it's used self-deprecatingly.

[Castro]

We had an earlier thread on FWP that rapidly went South, so I thought we could try again at a light-hearted (tongue-in-cheek) thread to post our First World Problems without judgement or nasty comments.

To keep it on-track, any 'spoilt brat', 'think yourselves lucky' type responses will be deleted. I think it goes without saying that we all consider ourselves fortunate to be here... healthy, well fed and comfortable, so no preaching please.

My two:

Queued in Subway for what seemed like 10 mins, got to the counter and found that they were out of Tuna (and I didn't feel for anything else )

The COOP filling station was out of plastic gloves so I had to touch the smelly diesel nozzle with my bare hands.... O Lord, why me??

[Nil]

My two kids are in holidays since 2 1/2 weeks and I can't stand them anymore.
Tomorrow.... Only one day, you can do it, one more day...

[TidakApa]

All this sunshine in winter is affecting how much snow there is on the piste.
I hate artificially generated snow.




If you have ever complained about dark winters, or are one of the 95% of worlds population that will perhaps never be able to afford to go skiing..... dry your eyes here.

[ipoddle]

My cleaner hasn't been able to work for 2 months and I am scared of the Dyson.

[aSwissInTheUS]

	Quote:	Nil
	My two kids are in holidays since 2 1/2 weeks and I can't stand them anymore. Tomorrow.... Only one day, you can do it, one more day...

Here we can solve the FWP with a TWP. Send them on a vacation to some third world country were they have an all day activity such as carpet knotting.

Here is mine. A 55 minute public transport commute rather than a 20 minute motorcylce ride. Reason: deffect motor (and later in the month there will be snow.)

PS: Tom just shut up, you sothern spoilt brat .

[TidakApa]

Arrggghhhh !!!!

I missed the tram.

Now I have to wait SIX whole minutes until the next one arrives.

[PaddyG]

I have a continuing dilemma as to which shower I should use in the appartment.